Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[Martin Alvito]

What I don’t really get is the aim or motive. What is it trying to achieve?

Is it just to spam for the purpose of attrition? To create apathy?

I don’t see the virtue of ignorance but it seems to be highly regarded by a large number of people.

The answer is ego reinforcement and social standing. Neil Peart once presciently characterized the Internet as a place where people can "test for echo". Cranks can find other cranks, where that was once hard to do when all communication (and politics?) was local.

The end result of this process is entire social structures where people can get social standing without being burdened by facts, or much having to change what they believe. Under some circumstances, this is a good thing. Conventional wisdom is often proven wrong later.

Under other circumstances, it is toxic. The Internet is equally an environment where pedophiles, racists, anti-vaxxers et al can find one another and reinforce their views.

 

[mill]

The answer is ego reinforcement and social standing. Neil Peart once presciently characterized the Internet as a place where people can "test for echo". Cranks can find other cranks, where that was once hard to do when all communication (and politics?) was local.

The end result of this process is entire social structures where people can get social standing without being burdened by facts, or much having to change what they believe. Under some circumstances, this is a good thing. Conventional wisdom is often proven wrong later.

Under other circumstances, it is toxic. The Internet is equally an environment where pedophiles, racists, anti-vaxxers et al can find one another and reinforce their views.

That makes a lot of sense. You can see just how easily it is for people to find validation. To the point where problematic views often escape this medium and into real life.

 

[Amw79]

What I don’t really get is the aim or motive. What is it trying to achieve?

Is it just to spam for the purpose of attrition? To create apathy?

I don’t see the virtue of ignorance but it seems to be highly regarded by a large number of people.

Hard to ascribe motive. I’m sure that some genuinely believe what they post, and can find 20 sources of varying legitimacy to back that position up. Their motive is maybe to alert others to information they think those others might not be aware of.

A couple of my close friends fall into this category and spam Facebook with a variety of sketchy info. A regular phrase I see from them is something like “this is what they’re not telling you…”, alongside a nugget of info, but a quick Google will establish that it’s already been widely reported, and often part of published government data.

Others are entirely dishonest, and when inaccurate stuff is pointed out, they’ll pivot to a different 10 points, or double down. Genuinely no idea what their motive is, other than to ‘not be wrong on the internet’.

 

[tsubaki]

What I don’t really get is the aim or motive. What is it trying to achieve?

Is it just to spam for the purpose of attrition? To create apathy?

I don’t see the virtue of ignorance but it seems to be highly regarded by a large number of people.

Quite a lot of the time it’s just people aping how they see others behave and then deploying that as part of their self defining identity.

They’ve not actually looked into the sense of what it is they are pushing out, but to push it out is required to be in the thing (whatever the thing is) and so out it goes. Obviously this generates opposition from others which helps to affirm the identity sought, as they deal with these “attacks”.

 

[Neiler]

Good news yesterday on the continued T-Cell response from Beta to Omicron - this is the paper we were discussing last night.

 

[efcfanwirral]

For the first time in ages, I've got a good feeling that this Clown World isn't gonna last much longer...just too much nonsense now.


Guten Rutsch!

For those vaccinated it will end. For those not, which will include me when the definition changes from 2 to 3 (then 4 etc), this will RIGHTLY carry on until we make the right decisions.

I used to believe all that alternative news nonsense, but seeing people like yourself and one of my friends posting endless streams of these alternative "facts" pushes me away. These people are dangerous.

We make our own decisions, mine is based on a family history of rare autoimmune diseases and the knowledge that its a new type of vaccine. But this doesn't make my decision right, just different. I also hold the belief that this decision has consequences, and actually currently believe those consequences aren't even stringent enough.

 

[Simon Buttle]

Yoikes

Tbf that's just a normal day for Southern, the service down here is terrible at the best of times.

 

[Harryflashman]

The rate in Liverpool appears to have absolutely exploded

 

[efcfanwirral]

The rate in Liverpool appears to have absolutely exploded

Will be worse after tonight!

 

[cronullasharks]

It really has been harvest time for clueless numpties on Twitter over the last 2 years. There's a burgeoning market out there for people retweeting studies they haven't read and interpreting them with analytical skills they don't possess.

Lots of internet scientists, doctors and barristers out there with a degree from the university of life. Whoever yells loudest MUST be right.

We live in the age of the nobhead.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Will be worse after tonight!

Can omicron penetrate excessive makeup?

 

[mill]

Can omicron penetrate excessive makeup?

Fake tan has been shown to have high efficacy according to @dholliday.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Fake tan has been shown to have high efficacy according to @dholliday.

I do wonder if the increased risk of leprosy makes it worthwhile though. I need Katie Hopkins to help guide me.

 

[cronullasharks]

Fake tan has been shown to have high efficacy according to @dholliday.

He copy and pasted some big words about it so he must be smart.

 

[Anders_Limpar]

It's the hazard of establishing a "moderation-free zone" for the purposes of permitting political discourse free of censorship. There are some astonishingly scummy actors out there today who will say absolutely anything in order to push their political point of view.

That is not GOT's fault, and the site doesn't have Facebook's billions that we can demand be thrown at the problem. It leaves us in the position, as individuals, to stand up to the lies.

It's encouraging, to me, that so many of us do it. I'd like to see more of this happen in everyday life. People are (reasonably?) so afraid of social consequences that they let nonsense like this pass or heavily water down criticism, when I see people say this stuff in person.

I think people should be free to express any crack pot view they want politically.

Having said that though I believe that a line should be drawn when people are posting stuff that could either actively discourage people from getting vaccinated or just encourage them not to bother.